The Fringe
Comes To Newcastle In This Perfectly Formed Little Venue
Grand Opening
Alphabetti Theatre
7th
March 2015
Hidden
away in a basement under Market Street West is a real gem of a
venue. It is well worth seeking out and the forthcoming programme is packed
with real potential.
A
city isn’t defined by the big venues, that pull in Lionel Ritchie or some
former west-end production, but by the quality of the smaller spaces. It is
apparent that Artistic Director, Ali Pritchard, knows what facilities are
needed to create such an exciting space.
The
first part of the fun is finding the venue, the small blue gate next to the NCP
car park has never stood out. Now it leads to an underground venue that has a
real Berlin feel. The licensed bar has
soft drinks as well as tea & coffee too. Prompt friendly service was
maintained throughout the evening.
The
bar leads into a comfortable seating area which has a wall with the names of
the generous crowdfunders whose philanthropy enabled the venue to happen.
Beyond
a curtain lies the theatre itself. A simple box with black walls, a white
ceiling and a stage in a corner – this is the ideal size for the fringe events
that made Edinburgh famous.
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Wilf Stone
Photo: Jo
Oliver for Jowheretogo
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The
evening’s entertainment began with Wilf Stone singing heartfelt songs on love,
live and World War 1 massacres. The theatre’s great acoustics worked well for
Wilf and his acoustic guitar. His strong, charming voice and canny playing
filled the room with a cool vibe. The highlight of the set was the emotional “And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda”.
Perhaps a song about the killing at Gallipoli might be an odd choice for a
mother’s lullaby but it was a powerful way to close the set. Alphabetti Theatre
is going to be a great place for showcasing music.
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Ali Pritchard
Photo: Jo
Oliver for Jowheretogo
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Ali
Pritchard gave a brief history of the project which started in 2012 when he had
problems finding a venue in Newcastle to move his show to
after performing in Edinburgh. This led to the use of
a room above a pub for a while but now brings him to this basement venue. It
sounds like the conversion was hard work but it has been worth it. Newcastle now has an artist - run
venue that will feature emerging work. Such upcoming work includes The Frights which has been two years in
the making.
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Kirsten
Photo: Jo
Oliver for Jowheretogo
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Performance
poetry will be an element in the theatre’s programme and Apple and Snakes’
Kirsten gave a fine educational introduction to poetry – from small stones of
verse (that are definately not pebbles) to longer pieces, such as Inkless, which described the writers
block that can be a feature of a poet’s life. The set was well received and
bodes well for the venue’s major poetry event in April.
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4M Pupper Theatre Company
Photo: Jo
Oliver for Jowheretogo
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4M
is a new puppet theatre company from Gateshead based William Steele and
Andrew Neale. Mythical Mechanical Monstrous Masterclasses are currently running
Build Your Own Puppet Workshops and
we were given a treat to see the possibilities of taking part with a funny skit
using some of the monsters that have been created. A cross between Sesame Street and Avenue Q, it was a
surreal and amusing mix of peanut butter, time machines and dinosaurs.
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Martha Wheatley
Photo: Jo
Oliver for Jowheretogo
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The
live entertainment was concluded with the beautiful songs from Martha Wheatley.
Great care had obviously gone into the almost poetical lyrics. With the power of Sinead O’Connor, and the
potential to be the new female George Ezra, Martha was a fitting end to the
show.
Newcastle’s latest venue fills a
gap in the market. It is friendly and cool without being snobby or pretentious.
It represents great value for money and is well worth seeking out.
This
review was written by Stephen Oliver for Jowheretogo PR (www.jowheretogo.com).
Follow Jo on twitter @jowheretogo, Stephen @panic_c_button or like Jowheretogo
on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jowheretogo
Coming Up:
The
new season includes The Frights, Alphabetti's first full length
production, in development since 2013, and Frank Su-matra by Mike
Yeaman who scored international success with Lucky Numbers (Jowheretogo Preview). There will also be spoken word, music and comedy at the monthly Alphabetti
Soup. As well as puppetry and poetry workshops, a writers and directors
showcase called Write Back, and original events the 24Hour
Theatre Challenge and the anarchic Quest to Stardom.
You
can read the Jowheretogo preview of the upcoming show The Palace of Varieties on 11th April Jowheretogo preview link
On
The Web:
Website: www.alphabettitheatre.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/alphabettitheatre
Twitter: www.twitter.com/alphabetti
Youtube: www.youtube.com/alphabetti
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